Treaty of Sèvres 1920

The Treaty of Sèvres, signed on 10 August 1920, set out the terms of the partition of the Ottoman Empire’s territories following its defeat in World War I. Besides massive territorial losses, the Ottoman Empire was forbidden from holding an army greater than 50,700 men, whilst its navy was massively restricted and it was forbidden from forming an air force altogether. Armenia gained independence, Britain, France and Italy were all given territories and Smyrna, an area which had a large Greek population, was put under Greek control, with a plebiscite determining which country the area would transfer to after five years. The harsh terms of the treaty immediately caused uproar amongst many Turks and aided the growth of the Turkish National Movement led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This revolutionary movement emerged victorious from the Turkish War of Independence, declaring a Turkish Republic on 29 October 1923, annulling the Treaty of Sèvres in the process.